Newcastle removing caramel coloring

Newcastle, the ale that's raised eyebrows with its savvy Super Bowl ambush marketing, has another pre-game surprise: It's dumping caramel coloring.

Under pressure from activists and consumers concerned about the possible health effects of caramel coloring, the U.K. brewer, owned by Heineken, confirmed to USA TODAY that it will stop using caramel coloring in its core Newcastle Brown Ale and has already returned to coloring it with the same roasted malt it formerly used.

The Center for Science in the Public interest has petitioned the FDA to to ban color coloring.

"We see consumers acting negatively towards caramel coloring, and of course we're listening to them," says Tara Rush, senior director of corporate communications at Heineken USA. As a result, she says, the brewer has returned to using roasted malt. The brand started using caramel coloring in 1927.

Heineken Dark eliminated caramel coloring last fall, says Rush. Newcastle's limited-edition offerings do not use caramel coloring, nor is it used in regular Heineken, says Rush. The latest move to remove it from Newcastle Brown Ale couldn't be done in time for the Super Bowl, she says, "due to a supply chain factor."

The move follows public pressure from nutrition activist Vani Hari, who blogs under the name "Food Babe." In a book due out in a few weeks, The Food Babe Way, she devotes a chapter to questionable ingredients — including caramel coloring — in some beers, wines and liquors.

"No one needs these artificial ingredients," says Hari, in a phone interview. "It just makes sense to remove these things."

Rush says the FDA has approved the caramel coloring. "It's completely safe," she says. "But we're listening to consumers."

Heineken was not influenced by Hari's upcoming book, says Rush. "Vani is one voice. When we made this decision, it was about listening to all of our core consumers — not Vani."

Hari shared with USA TODAY an e-mail recently sent to her from a Heineken publicist who noted that the caramel coloring has been removed. "Might it be possible to reflect the facts in future publications, including any potential information you've included in your book?" the publicist requested.

Hari has publicly pushed beer makers — and others — to remove caramel coloring from beverages. Starbucks has said that it will remove caramel coloring from its Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Hari also has pushed Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors to remove caramel coloring from any beer and ales using it.

"I hope this inspires other food and beverage makers to do the same, says Hari.